Mar 29, 2023
Drawing capital to North Dakota has been a problem for our state since, well, statehood. Our economy is heavily dependent on commodity-driven industries - energy and agriculture. Generations of political leaders have tried to find a way to diversify, but not much has changed.
Which would argue, I think, for some...
Mar 22, 2023
What's the right legacy for North Dakota's Legacy Fund?
It's a perennial question, all the more so when lawmakers are in session in Bismarck, and the answer is seemingly different for everyone. And that's the problem. The Legacy Fund was created two decades ago to store a big chunk of oil tax revenues for the future....
Mar 15, 2023
The American system for insurance and health care is broken. There's no two ways about it. We pay too much, and get too few choices.
How much can North Dakota's lawmakers do about it? Not a whole lot, but there are things they can do to keep it from getting worse. House Bill 1416 would stop insurers from using...
Mar 8, 2023
Minot, N.D. — I have been an outspoken critic of legislation before lawmakers in Bismarck that seeks to implement new content regulations on libraries and private stores open to the general public. So when Sen. Janne Myrdal agreed to come on this episode of Plain Talk, she knew what she was getting into.
Kudos to her...
Mar 2, 2023
Minot, N.D. — "It's happening," Sen. Scott Meyer, a Republican from Grand Forks, said on this episode of Plain Talk. "We're not stopping it."
He's referring to sports gambling, which is one of the topics he says his constituents talk to him about the most. "It's becoming more and more common. It's everywhere," he...